The Face of the Earth (Das Antlitz der Erde)

Abstract

THE first volume of this translation has been previously reviewed in NATURE, and we can renew our congratulations to the translator on her admirable rendering of this great work. Prof. Suess's eloquence depends on his ideas and his poetical imagery, and thus his writings suffer less by translation than those of most men. Doubt may be felt whether some of the proposed equivalents of technical terms, and such words as quer-Andian, will be generally adopted in English. In reading the volume it is necessary to remember that the original was published eighteen years ago. The French translation, edited by M. de Margerie, was brought up to date and illustrated by additional maps; but this edition exactly follows the original, and does not even add the date of its first publication. We are, however, frequently reminded of its age by such statements as that the Arctic Ocean is “of very trifling depth,” or that the author cannot hazard a guess as to the structure of the Celebes. In many cases the facts stated are now known to be incorrect; but later research has removed Prof. Suess's difficulties probably more often than it has added to them.

The Face of the Earth (Das Antlitz der Erde).

By Prof. Eduard Suess. Translated by Dr. Hertha B. C. Sollas, under the direction of Prof. W. J. Sollas. Vol. ii. Pp. vi + 556; illustrated. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) Price 25s. net.